Technical Issues Prevent King County Coronavirus Update Tuesday

SEATTLE, WA — Ongoing technical issues with the Washington Department of Health's reporting system prevented King County from releasing updated information on coronavirus cases Tuesday afternoon, according to public health officials.

The last available update, posted Monday afternoon, showed 2,330 coronavirus cases in the county, and 150 deaths linked to the virus.

Public health officials said they expected to resume updates on Wednesday.

Statewide data on confirmed COVID-19 cases still unavailable

According to the state department of health, several challenges have prevented daily updates on confirmed COVID-19 cases and deaths in Washington this week. Health officials cited technical challenges Monday, which was the first day new statewide numbers were not available on the department's website, and detailed the problems in an e-mail Tuesday afternoon.

The department of health said the system it uses to report "notifiable conditions" was overwhelmed by tracking negative results, which account for approximately 93 percent of the data. Outside of a pandemic, the system would normally track only positive results.

The state said it is working to increase the system's capacity and may create a separate tool to handle negative results. Programmers are also working to automate the process to detect duplicate entries, which has been performed manually until now.

A timeline for the fix is unknown.

"DOH will share additional updates if this problem persists," the department wrote. "We cannot provide an estimate for the next release of numbers, but are working diligently toward that goal."

The state recently upgraded the results portal to include new visual data showing confirmed cases, testing numbers and the epidemiological curve of the virus's spread.

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Inslee could extend "Stay Home, Stay Healthy," order this week

Gov. Jay Inslee's chief of staff said Tuesday that the governor's stay-at-home order could be extended within "a day or so," and the National Guard may soon be deployed to assist in the state's coronavirus response, according to the Seattle Times. The newspaper reports Inslee was informed Monday that Washington could receive less than 100 of the 500 ventilators the state requested from the federal stockpile.

Ferguson warns five Amazon sellers to stop price-gouging coronavirus-related products

Attorney General Bob Ferguson has sent cease and desist letters to five Washington-based Amazon sellers who were found to be price-gouging on items like hand sanitizer or N95 respirator masks. Ferguson said, in one case, an independent seller had marked up an item's price by more than 600 percent.

Ferguson's office said sellers who continue overcharging and ignore the warning will face lawsuits from the state, carrying a penalty up to $2,000 for each violation.

"Price-gouging during an emergency is morally wrong, and a violation of the Consumer Protection Act," Ferguson said. "These businesses are charging exorbitant prices on products that are essential for the health and well-being of Washingtonians."

Residents can file complaints related to price-gouging on the Attorney General's website.

Dozens of King County organizations receive funding through COVID-19 Response Fund

Seattle and King County Public Health joined forces with the Seattle Foundation and United Way of King County to determine where the greatest needs exist for the COVID-19 Response Fund, which has already collected more than $10 million in donations.

Public health officials said at least 128 community-based organizations have received funding so far, which will help support low-income residents, gig workers, people experiencing homelessness and other vulnerable groups.

According to the county, more than 3,000 people have donated to the fund, along with dozens of businesses and local philanthropists. Further donations can be made via the Seattle Foundation website.

Regional leaders to tour Shoreline field hospital Wednesday

King County Executive Dow Constantine and other local leaders will tour a 140-bed field hospital Wednesday morning, recently built on city-owned soccer fields in Shoreline. County officials said the facility will provide assessment and recovery care for those who cannot recover from COVID-19 at home, or do not have homes.

The county has identified three other locations for hospitals to send non-emergency coronavirus patients, to free up hospital space for those with significant needs. According to the county executive's office, those will be established in Seattle's Interbay and SoDo neighborhoods, with a third facility planned in Bellevue.